Zardari wants to take Nawaz along to US to convince it to remove Musharraf

London, July 17 : After the recent missives from PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif that he might walk out of the ruling federal alliance, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari is learnt to making moves to persuade Nawaz to accompany him to the US in a bid to convince the White House and the US State Department to get rid of President Pervez Musharraf so as to bring about stability in Pakistan.

According to sources close to Zardari, he is of the idea that if both of them visited Washington and met the top US officials to discuss the fate of Musharraf, they might get quick and desired results. And, this would end the long political deadlock between the two main ruling coalition partners over the issue of impeachment of Musharraf and restoration of the deposed judges, The News quoted these sources as saying.

The invitation is said to have come when Sharif had decided to get tough with Asif Zardari, telling media men here the other day that the next round of talks between the PPP and the PML-N would be "decisive".

For the first time since the two parties formed a coalition government in March this year, Nawaz indicated that he "might part company" with Zardari if he failed to execute both his public and secret commitments on restoration of the deposed judges and impeachment of President Musharraf.

However, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmud Qureshi who met Nawaz here on Tuesday, denied knowledge of any such proposal or invitation extended by Zardari to Nawaz. To a question about his meeting with Nawaz, Qureshi replied that he had visited Nawaz in his personal capacity to inquire about his wife's health.

Sources said this was the second time that Zardari had tried to convince Sharif to accompany him on a foreign trip in a bid to achieve common political and economic goals. Earlier, Nawaz had rejected an invitation to accompany Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to Saudi Arabia.

ANI